Recommend a Ladies' Shotgun

[LARGO9]

https://www.theoutdoorstrader.com/threads/fs-ft-yildiz-20-ga-o-u.2023019/

 

[The Old Jaybird]

When I shot skeet there was about a one bird difference between shooters 20 ga and 28 ga averages. There was very little difference between the 2 except that 28ga guns cost more since they sort of "niche" guns. Not many folks shoot 28 unless they are shooting skeet.

 

[Cruisers460]

My wife shot a shotgun for the first time this weekend and loved breaking clays. Having said that she shot a total of four shotguns to see what she preferred; two were 12 gauge 11-87s, one a skeet version and the other sporting clays. The other two shot guns were a CZ woodcock O/U in 20 gauge and a Mossberg 500 in 12 that someone happened to have available. All shells were target / game loads. She expressed a definite preference for the 11/87 sporting clays wit a ported barrel, second would have been the O/U 20 gauge which she said had a noticeably heavier recoil than the semi auto 12s, she actually couldn't tell any noticeable difference in recoil between the pump 12 and the O/U 20 gauge.

 

[Old_School]

I've completely moved over to 28 ga after shooting the Citori I inherited from my Dad 15 years ago. I absolutely love the gauge and anyone who says it's inferior to a 20 ga hasn't spent much time behind one. I'm no competitor, but I regularly shoot 70-75% at Sporting Clays, the same score I shoot with my 16 ga.

When my youngest daughter was still living at home, I intended to get her a 28 ga semiauto and have the stock shortened, but life got in the way. It's the perfect gauge for teaching young, or small-framed students. Light recoil and light weight, if you choose the proper gun.

Look closely at the TriStar G2 Viper. It's well-made and gets great reviews. I stopped at the TriStar booth at the ATL NRA Convention and spoke with them at length. Their rep said the Viper 20 ga youth stock would fit the 28 ga, although it would stand proud of the receiver. As another poster mentioned, the Weatherby SA-08 is another good option.

As for shells, I primarily reload them, but Winchester runs a $2/bx rebate every year for AAs. Last year, I ordered 4 flats of WW AAs from Academy at $8.99/bx ($6.99 after rebate). I bought them just for the hulls to reload. Heck, you can resell once-fired 28 ga AA hulls for $5/bx, making shooting AAs pretty reasonable!

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[Old_School]

The 28 ga field load uses more powder than the 20 gauge. It has to do with energy and area of the piston transferring the energy to the shot column. 20 is more efficient.

Have you or your students actually shot a 28 and a 20 side by side? Weight of gun and fit have more to do with comfort. A light gun is easier to carry, but kicks harder than a heavier gun. A gas gun will always be softer than a pump or O/U or even a recoil action auto. A short barrel is more uncomfortable than a longer barrel.

More powder? What loading manuals are you looking at?

I've let my 24 yo daughter shoot a number of youth-sized 20 ga shotguns and she likes the 28 ga best. It definitely kicks less and the lighter 28 ga guns are easier for her to balance/handle.

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[Necrosis]

Something that you are overlooking with the smaller gauges is that they are really for experts, assuming the point is to hit things. The lower the weight of the shot load, the less pellets, and therefore less chance that you hit what you are aiming at.

You may not like it, but the answer is a short stocked, properly fitting 12 ga semiauto with low recoil loads.

 

[nsadvinc]

I'm thinking about getting a 28 gauge shotgun for women and kids to use.
Not a 20, at least not in any type of action other than semi-auto. I've taken women and kids shooting with pump, break-open, and bolt-action 20 gauge shotguns, and I get a lot of complaints about recoil. Even with light trap and dove & quail loads with low-brass #8 birdshot, 2.75" chamber shells.

So, I think my first choice would be a 28 gauge.
I'll deal with the ammo expense and reduced availability in exchange for giving newbies a good first experience with shotgunning.

PREFERABLY a semi-auto. Not only to further reduce felt recoil, but also to keep things simple for beginners. Once the gun's ready, just point it and press the trigger. For the second shot, press again. So pump-actions are not top on my list, although I love them for experienced shooters like myself.

SO, WHAT'S A DECENT SEMI-AUTO 28 gauge that doesn't cost an arm and a leg?

I see that Mossberg puts their brand name on a gun made in Turkey, the SA-28, that is in the $450 price range, and is a semi-auto 28 bore that can be found in both full sized versions and youth / lady / bantam / compact versions.

I see that Tristar (also a Turkish brand) has a 28 gauge semi-auto, in a similar price. Although that one is only offered in full adult size, not youth size with a shorter length of pull from the trigger to the butt.

What other options are there?

Do any of y'all own, or have personally used, an inexpensive 28 gauge shotgun of the semi-auto design?

How about an over/under? Savage Stevens 555 compact looks like a good option, too, though it's priced more in the $550 price range.

A 20 guage semi with a Limbsavers recoil pad would virtually eliminate 70% of felt recoil. I don't know where you'd ever find 28 ga shells. If a person couldn't handle the recoil as above....either they shouldn't be shooting....or buy a .22

 

[jeep78]

More powder? What loading manuals are you looking at?

I've let my 24 yo daughter shoot a number of youth-sized 20 ga shotguns and she likes the 28 ga best. It definitely kicks less and the lighter 28 ga guns are easier for her to balance/handle.

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Looking at published loading on factory ammo. Reloading data is meaningless as powders vary by more than 20 percent in density for dame energy loading, and pet loads are all over the map. My 30-30 load uses less than half "published" figures. Does that mean 30-30 has less recoil than 223? Mine does.

 

[Old_School]

Looking at published loading on factory ammo. Reloading data is meaningless as powders vary by more than 20 percent in density for dame energy loading, and pet loads are all over the map. My 30-30 load uses less than half "published" figures. Does that mean 30-30 has less recoil than 223? Mine does.

Whatever. I've only been reloading for 50 years, so that's new information to me. I do know my 28ga kicks less than an equivalent 20ga, so that's all that matters to me.

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[longfastglass]

I’ve got a great semi auto 20ga posted. Check it out:
https://www.theoutdoorstrader.com/threads/fs-ft-beautiful-ted-williams-20ga-shotgun.2024717/